Our time in the States

We have been back in Uganda just under a week.  As we were traveling and even now, I was thinking about our time spent in the States.  Even though it was an unplanned trip, we were able to meet with quite a few of our supporters and spend lots of time with family and friends.  We were blessed by many people through their financial giving to help cover Izaac's medical bills and the words of encouragement of how many people were covering us in prayer during that time and even now.  It was really cool when the x-ray tech in Grand Rapids told Izaac that she had read about his story and was praying for him while we were in Kenya. God definitely showed us time and again that He knew what He was doing.

One of the highlights of our time in the States was going to Pennsylvania for a week. We were able to speak at Providence Baptist and Izaac was able to be a mini camper at Pine Valley Camp where we use to live/work.  The kids had a blast reconnecting with all our friends in PA.  Another highlight was being able to go swimming almost every day.  By the end of our time at Benj's parents Izaac could swim the length of the pool and back (the long side) and dive and Ellie could swim without floaties and get dive sticks off the bottom of the shallow end.  Izaac was also able to go to a day camp in Michigan at Remembrance Church.  He was hesitant at first but by the end he didn't want it to end. The kids loved spending as much time as they could with their cousins. It was nice that it was summer for most of our time so they could see a lot of each other.

I had the opportunity to help my friend Anna move to colorado. I really don't mind driving so I tend to do a lot of long trips with people.  I am glad to be able to help! I then stayed there for a week so I could see my brother and sister, attend a church that supports us, and visit with some friends.  My brother took us to the mountains to take photos of the stars.  It was really cool to see God's creation and fun to learn some new photography skills.

Benj and I were able to go to a Chicago Fire MLS game thanks to his brother Chip.  I was so glad that he was still willing to buy us the tickets so many years after our wedding.  It was nice to have time just the two of us. After the game we drove to Pennsylvania for our friends Julie and Ryan's wedding.  It was great to see everyone again.  I was finding however that I was tired of saying goodbye.  When we left in August we said goodbye because we didn't think we would be able to make it to the wedding. But plans changed and so we had to say goodbye again.  We were able to spend some time with our friends Mike and Kirstian too.  We sat by a fire and just chatted like it was something we did all the time. It was nice to have some kid free time with them because usually the kids are asking questions or running around so conversations are choppy.

We drove back to Michigan on the 18th and had a family and friends gathering at my moms. The 19th we had a family gathering at my in-laws and the 20th we drove to Chicago to start the long journey here.  As much as the travel stinks and is long and tiring, it was so nice to spend that time with people who love us and support us in so many ways. We are not sure why God had any of this in His plan for us but we are trusting Him in knowing what is best for us. He has brought us this far and will continue to carry us through all the highs and lows that will come in the future.